Blast furnace filling device



Aug. 11, 1936. o. R. RICE BLAST FURNACE FILL-ING DEVICE Filed Jan. 7,1935 Im/znfor Owen EE/bz.

W/Zwmgw, y'ww Patented Aug. 11, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BLASTFURNACE FILLING I DEVICE Owen R.v Rice, Chicago, Ill., assignor to'FreynEngineering Company, Chicago, 111., acorporation of Maine ApplicationJanuary '7,1935,':Serial No. 608

11 Claims. (Cl;'26627) in series, one being open while the other isclosed,

whereby the material may be charged into the furnace without a materialescape of gas through the filling means. Furthermore, according to 10prior practice it has been necessary to provide distributing means todistribute as well as possible the material charged into the furnace.According to prior practice, difliculty has been encounteredby reason ofthe fact that the coarse 15 pieces of material will segregate fromthefine pieces, resulting in lack of uniformity of gas flow upwardthrough the furnace charge.

An object of the present invention is to provide ianimproved structurefor charging material to 20 a furnace which is simple both in its partsand in its operation. i A further object is to provide an improvedstructure for charging material into a blast furnace which will havethe'result that the break- 25 :age of the material into fine pieces isminimized. A further object is to provide a construction which minimizesundesirable segregation of the material into sizes.

A further object is to provide a construction '30 which so distributesthe charge that the amount of dust carried off with the blast furnacegas is minimized.

'A further object is to provide'blast furnace charging means inwhich'the conventional large bell with its operating mechanism and theconventional distributor with its operating mechanism will be renderedunnecessary.

A further object is to provide a construction which will result in anincrease over prior prac- 40 tice in the exposed area at the 'top of thefurnace charge, resulting in lower velocity of the gases issuing fromthe charge.

A further object is to provide a construction which will produceimproved uniformity of gas 45 flow upward through the furnace charge.

Further objects will appear as the description proceeds.

The one figure of the drawing illustrates a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

50 The numeral 1 indicates a blast furnace, which blast furnace has theusual conical top portion 2.

"Disposed'symmetrically with the top portion 2 is the cone 3, whichprovides a seat for the bell 4,

which bell 4 may be operated through therod'5 by'any preferred'nreans,Disposed above the furnace top 2. is the cylindrical hopper 6, throughwhich material may be conducted to the bell 4, said'material beingdumped into said cylindrical hopper Bby means-of the skip I.The'cylindrical hopper 6 maybe controlledby the gate 8, which willbeclosed when the bell 4' is in lowered, that is-open, position. The gate8 may be controlled bymeansof operating mechanism, indicated by thenumeral '9, which operates through linkage or'other power transmittingmeans, indicated by 10 the numeral 10. Supported within the top por-'tion 2*of the furnace is themainhopper |l.dis posed coaxially withrespect to the furnace and to the hell 4. Said main hopper llis'frustoconical in contour, the smaller portion being lowermost, andprovides the throat l2 disposed substantially coaxially with the furnaceI. The numeral l3 indicates the normal stock line. of

'the'furnace, and thethroat l2 of the main hopper II will be disposedabove said normal stock line l3. 7

. Disposed below the throat I2 of the main hopper i I area plurality ofcoaxially disposed louvre rings I l-l4 arranged in circumferentialechelon.

In theillustrated embodiment, four of said rings M are provided. Saidrings vary progressively indiameter, the ring of smallest diameter beingclosest to the throat' l2. Said rings--|4-I4 are held infixedrelationship with eachother by meansof the supporting angles I5-I5. The3 .assemb-lyof. rings I l-I4 is held in fixed relationship with respectto the furnace I by means of the struts 5-16 and issuspended from themain hopper H bymeans. of a plurality of suspension rods. ll -l'l, ofwhich only one is illustrated in thedrawing. .Said rings l4l4 arespaceddown- The angle l9 between the surface I 8 and-a horizontal, plane ischosen of amagnitude greater than the angle of repwe of the material ofthe charge Within the blastfurnace, for a purpose which will bediscussed presently. The rings l4-I4 should beso disposed that'the'frustoconical surface I8 defined thereby will beintersected' bythe'normal stock line l3'intermediate of the height of said surfacebetween the throat i2 and the region'of intersection-of said cone withthefurnace wall I.

Thenumerals 20 20 indicate the conventional gas'offtakes; which gasofftakes-communicate with the inside of; the fur- "nace'atareglonadjacent to the 'plane'marklng conical surfaces,

the location of the throat l2 of the main hopper I I. These conventionalofftakes 2020 receive the gas from the surface of the charge bounded bythe louvre rings 14-44. The present invention contemplates auxiliary gasofftakes 2l2l communicating with the region above the main hopper H.These auxiliary gas offtakes 2l-2l accommodate and induce gas flowthrough the part of the charge disposed within said main hopper II. Saidauxiliary gas ofitakes 21-2! also induce gas flow through the centralportion of the stock column, a function sought for but not attained inblast furnaces as now commonly used.

In operation, material will be fed into the cylindrical hopper 6, thegate 8 being open at this time and the bell 4 being closed. The gate 8will then be closed and the hell 4 will be opened a sufiicient distanceto allow the material thereon to be dumped into the furnace I. As thefurnace charge moves downward due to the smelting operation in the lowerpart of. the furnace, the more recently charged material in the mainhopper ll moves downward through the throat [2 into the region boundedby the louvre rings l4l4. This manner of movement entirely avoids theformations of hills and valleys, which characteristically accompany theuse of a large bell such as has been customary heretofore in filling ablast furnace. Said hills and valleys permit the heavier material tosegregate by rolling down said hills into said valleys, thus formingzones of open texture material and zones of closer texture material,permitting marked segregation of gas flow upward through the charge ofthe blast furnace. By means of the louvre ring system above referred to,this segregation of coarse and fine material does not occur, and the gaswithin the furnace is provided with no preferential path by virtue .ofany difference in openings or texture of the charge.

By reason of the fact that the angle l9 between a horizontal plane andthe conical surface constituting the locus of the inner lower edges ofthe rings |4l4 is greater than the angle of repose of the charge withinthe. furnace, said charge Will assume a predetermined outline. Thematerial below the throat [2 will assume an outline defined by aplurality of frustoindicated by the numerals 22-22, which plurality offrusto-conical surfaces approximate a single cone'of material, boundedat the top by the throat l2 and at the bottom by the diameter of theinner cylindrical surface of the furnace wall. Above the throat l2 willbe a 'pile of material, indicated by the numeral 23. The presentinvention provides a gas emitting surface of considerably greater areathan is provided by the usual type of. blast furnace filling means. Thesame volume of gas will be generated in the smelting operation in thefurnace according to the conventional distribution of the charge andaccording to the distribution hereinabove described. However, inasmuchas the area of the gas emitting surface according to the presentinvention is greater, the velocity of the gas will be correspondinglyless. Consequently less dust will be carried off through the gasoutlets.

The provision of the auxiliary gas outlets 2l-2I is accompanied by theadvantage that the gas distribution throughout the column of the chargein the furnace may be predetermined. For this purpose the size relationbetween the offtakes 2020 and 2 l-2l may be chosen to produce theevenness of distribution desired.

Though a preferred embodiment of the present invention has beendescribed in detail, many modifications will occur to those skilled inthe art. It is intended to cover all such modifications that fall withinthe scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is- 1. In a blast furnace, in combination, a furnacewall, said furnace wall being provided with a top portion, meansdisposed in said top portion for admitting charge to said furnace, aconical main hopper disposed beneath said admitting means, said mainhopper having a throat disposed substantially symmetrically with respectto said furnace wall, and louvre rings within said furnace disposedbelow said throat, said louvre rings being arranged in circumferentialechelon and varying increasingly in diameter from said 20 throatdownwardly of said furnace, gas offtakes communicating with the spacebounded by said hopper, said rings and said furnace wall, and auxiliaryoiftakes communicating with the space above said hopper and below saidcharge admitting means.

2. In a blast furnace, in combination, a furnace wall, said furnace wallbeing provided with a top portion, means disposed in said top portionfor admitting charge to said furnace, a conical main hopper disposedbeneath said admitting means, said main hopper having a throat disposedsubstantially symmetrically with respect to said furnace wall, andlouvre rings within said furnace disposed below said throat, said louvrerings being arranged in circumferential echelon and varying increasinglyin diameter from said throat downwardly of said furnace, the lower innerextremities of said louvre rings having their loci within a conicalsurface having an angularity with a horizontal plane greater than theangle of repose of the charge within said furnace, gas oiftakescommunicating with the space bounded by said hopper, said rings and saidfurnace wall, and auxiliary offtakes communicating with the space abovesaid hopper and below said charge admitting means.

3. In a blast furnace, in combination, a furnace wall having a topportion, means for admitting charge located in said top portion, aconical hopper below said admitting means, said conical hopper having athroat disposed substantially symmetrically with respect to said furnacewall, and a plurality of rings disposed coaxially with said throat, saidrings being disposed in circumferential echelon and increasingprogressively in diameter from a region immediately below said throat toa region adjacent to said furnace wall, gas offtakes communicating withthe space bounded by said hopper, said rings and said furnace wall, andauxiliary offtakes communicating with the space above said hopper andbelow said charge admitting means. 7

4. In a blast furnace, in combination, a furnace wall having a topportion, means for admitting charge located in said top portion, aconical hopper below said admitting means, said conical hopper having athroat disposed substantially symmetrically with respect to said furnacewall, a plurality of rings disposed coaxially with said throat, saidrings being disposed in circumferential echelon and increasingprogressively in diameter from a region immediately below said throat toa region adjacent tosaid furnace wall,

and gas ofitakes in said furnace Wall communieating with the spacebounded by said hopper, said louvre rings and said furnace wall, andauxiliary gas offtakes communicating with the space above said hopperand below said charge admitting means.

5. In a blast furnace, in combination, a furnace wall having a topportion, means for admitting charge located in said top portion, aconical hopper below said admitting means, said conical hopper having athroat disposed substantially symmetrically with respect to said furnacewall, a plurality of rings disposed coaxially with said throat, saidrings being disposed in circumferential echelon and increasingprogressively in diameter from a region immediately below said throat toa region adjacent to said furnace wall, gas oiftakes in said furnacewall communicating with the space bounded by said hopper, said louvrerings and said furnace wall, and auxiliary gas offtakes for discharginggas from the space within said furnace above said conical hopper andbelow said charge admitting means.

6. In a blast furnace, in combination, a furnace wall having a topportion, means for admitting charge located in said top portion, aconical hopper below said admitting means, said conical hopper having athroat disposed substantially symmetrically with respect to said furnacewall, and a plurality of rings disposed coaxially with said throat, saidrings being disposed in circumferential echelon and increasingprogressively in diameter from a region immediately below said throat toa region adjacent to said furnace wall, the lower inner extremities ofsaid louvre rings having their loci within a conical surface having anangularity with a horizontal plane greater than the angle of repose ofthe charge within said furnace, gas oiftakes communicating with thespace bounded by said hopper, said rings and said furnace wall, andauxiliary offtakes communicating with the space above said hopper andbelow said charge admitting means.

7. In a blast furnace, in combination, a furnace wall having a topportion, means for admitting charge located in said top portion, aconical hopper below said admitting means, said conical hopper having athroat disposed substantially symmetrically with respect to said furnacewall, a plurality of rings disposed coaxially with said throat, saidrings being disposed in circumferential echelon and increasingprogressively in diameter from a region immediately below said throat toa region adjacent to said furnace wall, and gas oiftakes in said furnacewall communicating with the space bounded by said hopper, said louvrerings and said furnace wall, the lower inner extremities of said louvrerings having their loci within a conical surface having an angularitywith a horizontal plane greater than the angle of repose of the chargewithin said furnace, and auxiliary gas offtakes communicating with thespace above said hopper and below said charge admitting means.

8. In a blast furnace, in combination, a furnace wall having a topportion, means for admitting charge located in said top portion, aconical hopper below said admitting means, said conical hopper havingathroat disposed substantially symmetrically with respect to saidfurnace wall, a plurality of rings disposed coaxially with said throat,

said rings being disposed in circumferential eche-.

lon and increasing progressively in diameter from a region immediatelybelow said throat to a region adjacent to said furnace wall, gasoiftakes in said furnace wall communicating with the space bounded bysaid hopper, said'louvre rings and said furnace wall, and auxiliary gasoiftakes communicating with the upper portion of the space within saidconical hopper and below said charge admitting means, the lower innerextremities of said louvre rings having their loci within a conicalsurface having an angularity with a horizontal plane greater than theangle of repose of the charge within said furnace.

9. In a blast furnace, in combination, a furnace wall, said furnace wallbeing provided with a top portion, means disposed in said top portionfor admitting charge to said furnace, a conical main hopper disposedbeneath said admitting means, said main hopper having a throat disposedsubstantially symmetrically with respect to said furnace wall, andlouvre rings within said furnace disposed below said throat, said louvrerings being arranged in circumferential echelon and varying increasinglyin diameter from said throat downwardly of said furnace, the lower innerextremities of said louvre rings having their loci within a conicalsurface having an angularity with a horizontal plane greater than theangle of repose of the charge within said furnace, each of said ringsbeing of sufiicient height with respect to the vertical distance betweenitand the ring next above, such that the charge within said rings lyingat its angle of repose will not overflow the tops of said rings, gasoiftakes communicating with the space bounded by said hopper, said ringsand said furnace wall, and auxiliary offtakes communicating with thespace above said hopper and below said charge admitting means.

10. In a blast furnace, in combination, a furnace Wall, said furnacewall being provide-d with a top portion, means disposed in said topportion for admitting charge to said furnace, a conical main hopperdisposed beneath said admitting means, said main hopper having a throatdisposed substantially symmetrically with respect to said furnace wall,means within said furnace wall for defining a substantially conicalsurface of the charge within said furnace below said main hopper, gasofftakes for taking off gas from said conical surface of said charge,and auxiliary gas 1 offtakes communicating with the space above saidhopper and below said charge admitting means for inducing gas flowthrough the central portion of the stock column within said Wall.

11. In a blast furnace, in combination, a furnace wall, said furnacewall being provided with a top portion, means disposed in said topportion for admitting charge to said furnace, a conical main hopperdisposed beneath said admitting means, said main hopper having a throatdisposed sub stantially symmetrically with respect to said furnace wall,louvre rings withinsaid furnace disposed below said throat, said louvrerings being arranged in circumferential echelon and varying increasinglyin diameter from said throat downwardly of said furnace, rigidsupporting members for holding said rings in fixed position relative toone another, and supporting means for holding said rings in fixedrelationship with said hopper and with said furnace wall.

OWEN R. RICE.

